page_title: Sports in the United States by state
section_title: Virginia
hierarchical_section_title: Sports in the United States by state / South / Virginia
caption_attribution_description: English: University of Virginia basketball player Kyle Guy prepares to shoot a free throw.
context_page_description: Sport in the USA are an important part of American culture. American football is the most popular sport to watch in the United States, followed by baseball, basketball, and ice hockey, which makes up the "4 major sports". Soccer, tennis, golf, wrestling, auto racing, arena football, field lacrosse, box lacrosse and volleyball are also played in the country. Based on Olympic Games, World Championships, and other major competitions in respective sports, the United States is the most successful sports nation in the world.
  Based on revenue, the four major professional sports leagues in the United States are Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, the National Football League, and the National Hockey League. The market for professional sports in the United States is roughly $69 billion, roughly 50% larger than that of all of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa combined. All four enjoy wide-ranging domestic media coverage and are considered the preeminent leagues in their respective sports in the world, although American football does not have a substantial following in other nations.
context_section_description: Virginia is the most populous U.S. state without a major professional sports league franchise. The reasons for this include the lack of any dominant city or market within the state, the proximity of teams in Washington, D.C. and North Carolina, and a reluctance to publicly finance stadiums. A proposed arena in Virginia Beach designed for an NBA franchise became the latest unsuccessful sports initiative when the city council there ended support in 2017. Norfolk is however host to two minor league teams: The AAA Norfolk Tides and the ECHL's Norfolk Admirals. The San Francisco Giants' AA team, the Richmond Flying Squirrels, began play at The Diamond in 2010, replacing the AAA Richmond Braves, who relocated after 2008. Additionally, the Washington Nationals, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, Atlanta Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Yankees, and Toronto Blue Jays also have Single-A and Rookie-level farm teams in Virginia. The Richmond Kickers, a United Soccer League club, have operated since 1993 and are the only team in their league to win both the league championship and the U.S. Open Cup in the same year.
  The Washington Redskins have Redskins Park, their headquarters, in Ashburn and their training facility is in Richmond, and the Washington Capitals train at MedStar Capitals Iceplex in Ballston. Virginia has many professional caliber golf courses including the Greg Norman course at Lansdowne Resort and Kingsmill Resort, home of the Kingsmill Championship, an LPGA Tour tournament. NASCAR currently schedules Monster Energy NASCAR Cup races on two tracks in Virginia: Martinsville Speedway and Richmond Raceway. Virginia natives currently competing in the series include Denny Hamlin and Elliott Sadler.
  Virginia does not allow state appropriated funds to be used for either operational or capital expenses for intercollegiate athletics. Despite this, both the Virginia Cavaliers and Virginia Tech Hokies have been able to field competitive teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference and maintain modern facilities. Their rivalry is followed statewide. Twelve other universities compete in NCAA Division I, particularly in the Atlantic 10 Conference, Big South Conference, and Colonial Athletic Association. Three historically black schools compete in the Division II Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association, and two others (Hampton and Norfolk State) compete in Division I. Several smaller schools compete in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference and the USA South Athletic Conference of NCAA Division III. The NCAA currently holds its Division III championships in football, men's basketball, volleyball and softball in Salem.
caption: The Virginia Cavaliers won the 2019 NCAA Championship and the overall men's program was twice awarded the Capital One Cup in 2015 and 2019 for leading the nation in overall athletics.
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